Nutrient uptake in potted gerbera cultivars

The analysis of the uptake of nutrients is important for understanding the nutritional requirements of a cultivar during its development and identifies periods of increased demand, which allows scheduling fertigation. Nevertheless, the information is limited for gerbera. Thus, the present study was conducted to determine the uptake of potted gerbera cultivars Cherry and Red conducted in substrate in a crop cycle in the period August-October 2008. The experiment was carried out in a greenhouse in a randomized block split plot with four replications. The plots were composed by cultivars and subplots by dates of collection. During the development of the plants, the content and accumulation of macro and micronutrients was assessed in plant tissue of the shoots. The macronutrients were accumulated in the following order: K>N>Ca>Mg>P>S (524, 334, 119, 47, 42, 21 mg plant-1). The micronutrients were accumulated in the following order: Fe>Mn>B>Zn>Cu (7897, 1505, 801, 384,63 µg plant-1). The reproductive was the period of greatest uptake of nutrients, except for Fe.

Gerbera jamesonii; soilless culture; plant nutrition